05 NOVEMBER 2013 - PHOENIX, AZ: ALAN GELLER, right, a volunteer, helps JUAN ARMEDARIZ, left, put food into his truck at St. Mary's Food Bank in Phoenix, AZ. Demand at St. Mary's has continued to increase even as government assistance is reduced. Over the summer, St. Mary's Phoenix location provided emergency food for 300 - 400 families per day. They are currently supporting about 600 families per day. Part of the increase is seasonal but a large part of it is no clients coming to the food bank for the first time. More than 1.1 million Arizonans who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as food stamps, saw their benefits reduced Friday, Nov. 1, in a long-planned national cut that was tied to the economic stimulus which was a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The cuts imposed last week range from $11 a month for a single recipient to $65 or more for large families. Many of SNAP receipients already use food banks to supplement their government assistance and the cuts in the SNAP program are expected to increase demand even more.   PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
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